


Birthday Surprises

by RL4r



Series: FWP-series w/ Hidashi [7]
Category: Big Hero 6 (2014)
Genre: /slamdunked into trashcan, Alternate Universe, Dorks in Love, FWP-Fluff without Plot, Fight Tadashi Fight, I love writing about these idiots so much pwahahaa, M/M, Medical Students! AU, Not-Related! AU, Not-brothers! AU, Older Hiro, This installment is a little word-heavy and I apologize, alternate universe-not related, because that's totally a thing, but Part Two is gonna be more entertaining I promise, hidashi, nerd gang again because i love them so much, or at least I think it's a thing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-10
Updated: 2015-07-21
Packaged: 2018-04-08 14:06:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 14,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4307973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RL4r/pseuds/RL4r
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Considering the fact that it was Hiro’s birthday, one would think that he would be the one who was in for all the surprises. </p><p>But in actuality, the one who was in for the biggest surprise of all wasn’t Hiro. It was Tadashi.  </p><p>And let’s just say it was not the good kind of surprise, in any sense of the word. How was Tadashi going to get himself out of this one?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Birthday Surprises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone. Sorry this took so damn long to write again ugh orz I apologize that the first part of this installment (there's going to be two) is a little dry and exposition-heavy, but it’s supposed to serve as a “Setup-chapter” anyway, so please forgive me. Hopefully Part Two will be more rewarding lol. So far, Part Two seems to be quite entertaining lawl
> 
> (Honestly if you really don't want to trudge through all the exposition, you can skip to the end. lol) 
> 
> Just as note, I’ll be on vacation for about 10 days, so I probably won’t be able to post the second part for a little bit. I’m sorry. I’ll try my best though to get it finished asap though, and I finish before I leave, good for me (99% sure it won't happen though lol). Thank you for understanding.

**Birthday Surprises (Part One)**

 

            “Please turn at this intersection here Heathcliff.”

 

            “Yes Master Tadashi.”

 

            “T-there’s no need to call me that.”

 

            The group of friends (excluding Hiro) were currently in Healthcliff’s car, on their way to Hiro’s house for his planned birthday get-together. Just about 2 hours ago, the friends had gathered in the local supermarket to shop for some snacks and drinks.  After the group of friends had finished shopping, Tadashi was assigned the task of guiding Healthcliff to Hiro's house since he was the most familiar with the necessary directions. To his embarrassment of course, Healthcliff kept addressing him as "Master Tadashi" while he was in the passenger seat, despite the fact that Tadashi was neither his master nor did he want to be addressed as such.  

 

            The drive to Hiro's house didn't take too long; the group arrived a little under 20 minutes. As Tadashi busied himself with fishing out his phone from the depths of his pocket, the rest of his friends exited the car and unpacked their things. 

 

            “Hey Hiro, we’re here. Can you please open the door for us?” Tadashi asked, scrambling out from the car so that he could help his friends gather everything up. 

 

            “Yeah, just give me a second.” Hiro said, ending the call. Tadashi placed his phone back into his pocket before helping with the last of the groceries. He then signaled to Healthcliff that he could leave; upon his signal, Healthcliff promptly drove off.

 

            The garage door opened ten seconds later, revealing a smiling Hiro. Honey Lemon wasted no time pulling the shorter man into a tight hug.

 

            “HAPPY BIRTHDAY HIRO!!!!” Honey Lemon exclaimed excitedly, hugging Hiro so hard that she lifted him up off the ground. “From all of us!”

 

            “Haha thanks Honey,” Hiro gasped out. Whatever Honey Lemon was carrying (it was probably a cake, judging by the size) bumped painfully against his right hip. “Thanks for coming.”

 

            “Of course! Wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”

 

            “Let the man breathe Honey Lemon.” Gogo said, coming up from behind the bubbly woman. She was carrying the various board games the friends had decided on to play for the day.

 

            “Sorry!” Honey Lemon said, releasing Hiro. “I’m just so excited!”

 

            “Hey Gogo. Thanks for coming.” Hiro greeted warmly. Gogo shrugged nonchalantly, but lightly jabbed Hiro’s shoulder to indicate her affection.

 

            “Well someone has to make sure you have a good 21st birthday,” Gogo said, popping her gum.  “And someone has to make sure that all the children get home in one piece.”

 

            “So how are all of you guys getting home today?” Hiro asked. “I don’t want anyone who is even a little tipsy driving under my watch.”

 

            “Heathcliff should be coming around 7 to pick us up and drop all of us off. Don’t worry little man, we planned ahead,” Fred said, pulling Hiro into a loose headlock and affectionately giving him a noogie. “Cuz we’re responsible people!”

 

            “Some more responsible than others…” Wasabi couldn’t help but mutter under his breath, carrying a majority of the groceries into Hiro’s garage while Fred goofed around with a giggling Hiro. Tadashi brought up the rear and closed the garage door behind him.

 

            “Oh. Gotta release the precious birthday boy now that his boyfriend’s in the garage.” Fred joked, gently pushing Hiro towards Tadashi. Hiro’s eyes lit up as Tadashi pulled him into a warm hug.

 

            “Happy Birthday Hiro.” Tadashi whispered against Hiro’s neck, smiling gently.

 

            “Glad you’re here to spend it with me.” Hiro whispered back. Tadashi squeezed Hiro only briefly before releasing the smaller man, not wanting to make the situation too awkward for their friends.

 

            “Oh, before I forget,” Tadashi said, handing Hiro a dark violet gift bag. “Aunt Cass wanted me to give this to you. She wishes you a great birthday.”

 

            “Oh she’s the best,” Hiro said, accepting the gift and hugging the bag close to himself (judging by the way it crinkled a little, Hiro figured that Aunt Cass probably gave him clothes of some sort). “Tell her that I really appreciate it.”

 

            “Sure thing knucklehead.”

 

            “Alright, let’s go! We’ll be mostly hanging out on the first floor, seeing as that’s where the kitchen is. Please make yourselves at home.” Hiro said, leading the way into his house.

 

            The group trailed after Hiro for a couple of seconds before making their way into Hiro’s house from the garage. It seemed that Hiro’s bottom floor was not really sectioned off into different rooms; that is, there weren’t any doors or particularly big partitions that separated the living room from the dining room and the kitchen. The layout gave the house a big airy feel and made the gang quite comfortable with the idea of jumping between sitting on the multiple couches in the living room to sitting on one of the kitchen countertop stools.

 

            “Simple layout compared to my place,” Fred said. “But that’s what I love about it so much.”

 

            “Have you been here before Freddie?” Honey Lemon asked.

 

            “Yeah. I came over once. It was shortly after the charity event at my school actually. Hiro had wanted me to come over so that I could bring Tadashi’s cardigan back.” Fred explained. Unbeknownst to all (except Hiro), Tadashi almost dropped his grocery bags at the sound of Fred mentioning his cardigan; luckily for him, it seemed that Fred neither elaborated further on the story nor did his friends ask for any more details.

 

            “I saw that,” Hiro whispered teasingly to Tadashi. “Thinking of my notecard are we?”

  
  
            “Oh shush you little devil.” Tadashi grumbled under his breath. Hiro giggled and lightly bumped against Tadashi’s hip, further embarrassing the taller man.

 

            The group of friends bounced around the kitchen for a couple of minutes, figuring out how to store the drinks in Hiro’s refrigerator and where to leave the food they brought over as well; in the end, they managed to get everything they needed to into the fridge, needing only to get rid of a carton of expired milk to do so (“Whoops I don’t know why I forgot to get rid of that!” Hiro said, slightly embarrassed). In the meantime, Hiro made tea for everyone (pouring it into individually assigned disposable foam cups) and directed them to his dining room table, where some small snacks (crackers and cookies) were laid out in advance.

 

            “You know, is there a reason why you welcome guests through the garage and not the front door Hiro?” Fred asked as he nibbled on a cookie.

 

            “Oh, it’s a force of habit,” Hiro explained. “We used to have a lot of computer parts and files spread out across the living room that blocked the main entrance, so we always entered the house through the garage. Even after my mom and I have cleaned all the computer stuff up, we still enter the house through the garage.”

 

            “Ah that makes sense.” Fred replied.

 

            “The front door still opens though right?” Gogo asked.

 

            “Yeah it’s fully operational. Don’t worry,” Hiro assured the group of friends. “Anyway, so while the drinks cool, what board game should we play first?”

 

            “Oh, my pick first! Who’s ready to break some friendships?” Fred asked, pulling out his copy of Monopoly from Gogo’s bag and laying out the board.

 

            “You are so on,” Gogo challenged, popping her gum soundly. She started allocating the money. “This is my game.”

 

            “Dibs on the automobile token.” Wasabi called out. On his right, Honey Lemon grabbed the terrier token.

 

            “Top hat for me.” Tadashi whispered to Hiro, winking at him. Hiro rolled his eyes.

 

            “What, do you think you’re fancy or something?” he joked, grabbing the boot token himself.

 

            “No. It’s just that there isn’t a baseball cap token you know?” Tadashi explained.

 

            “Oh god, you’re such a nerd.” Hiro said, shaking his head. Despite his words, he leaned over to give a quick peck on Tadashi’s cheek.

 

            Unsurprisingly, the game of monopoly (even when they limited the number of rounds) lasted a good hour-and-a-half before ending with Gogo winning by a solid margin (“Why did you have to keep landing on her spot Wasabi?” Hiro joked). Everyone took a minute to stretch before Fred cleaned up his game and announced the start of drinks.

  
  
            “It has been more than an hour, so let’s crack open the fridge for a cold drink. We should start off with something light. I’ll do the honors!”

  
  
            Fred dove into the fridge for a few seconds before pulling out a pack of bottles; meanwhile, Hiro reached into one of his cabinets and pulled out plastic cups for everyone.

 

            “I brought some hard cider. It mostly tastes fruity but has that little bit of alcoholic kick when you swallow,” Fred explained, mostly to Hiro because his friends were pretty familiar with the drink already. “I know it’s on the weak end of the spectrum in terms of alcohol content, but it still remains one of my go-to-favorites, especially during the fall season. Thought you’d like it.”

 

            Fred took Hiro’s cup first and filled it about half-way. Hiro swirled the liquid around briefly before taking a sip.

 

            “Mmm. I like it.” Hiro said, licking his lips a few times to fully process the flavor. “Thanks Fred. It really does remind me of the fall season.”

 

            “No problem little man. Anyone else want?”

 

            After Fred gave a round of hard cider to everyone, Tadashi, with Hiro in tow, excused themselves from the table and started working on preparing the spicy chicken wings. Meanwhile, the rest of the nerd gang busied themselves with ordering two pizza pies for lunch, playfully arguing about what toppings they should order.

 

            “Did you prepare those wings yourself?” Hiro asked Tadashi as he handed him his biggest frying pan.

 

            “Alas I cannot claim credit to that,” Tadashi said, chuckling. He poured oil onto the pan that Hiro gave him before placing all of the wings in the pan as well. “Aunt Cass prepared everything for me. She just left the task of actually frying the wings to me because she wanted them to be fresh for you.”

 

            “I really should go help out at the café more often,” Hiro said, hugging Tadashi around the waist from behind. “I owe her so many favors.”

 

            “Well that may be true, but I can assure you that part of the reason why she’s sharing her food is because she wants to brag a little about how well she can cook, so don’t feel too bad.”

 

            “It’s still super nice of her.” Hiro said as he drummed his fingers against Tadashi’s sides. Tadashi giggled at the ticklish feeling of Hiro’s fingers against his hips; in consequence, he gently swatted Hiro’s hands away lest he end up burning himself or Hiro while he cooked.

 

            The two chatted amiably as Tadashi prepared the chicken wings over the next 30 minutes. Tadashi finished cooking the chicken wings right before the pizza delivery guy arrived; it turned out that friends had agreed on a pizza with extra cheese and a pizza with bell peppers. After Hiro pulled out plates, the group of friends worked together to allocate a slice of pizza and a couple of chicken wings to everyone before excitedly digging in together.

 

            “Oh man, you weren’t kidding when you said that these chicken wings could make your face numb.” Hiro said, his eyes watering within ten seconds of eating one. Tadashi, who was sitting across from him, burst out into laughter. 

 

            “I’ll be sure to let her know,” Tadashi said. “She’ll be so thrilled to know she has claimed another victim.”

 

            “Want a little more cider Hiro?” Fred asked in the middle of chewing his slice of pizza (Wasabi almost choked on his at the sight).

 

            “Sure.” Hiro said, accepting Fred’s offer.

 

            “Make sure to leave some room for the other alcohol we brought Hiro.” Gogo said, watching Hiro from the corner of her eye.

 

            “I’m not going to get drunk from hard cider…”

 

            “I beg to differ. Tadashi did once actually.”

 

            “Gogo…” Tadashi said, feeling his cheeks burn slightly. Fred and Wasabi chuckled at the sight of their friend getting embarrassed; Hiro shot Tadashi an amused look and playfully tapped his foot under the table (Tadashi’s cheeks flushed even harder in consequence).  Noticing that Tadashi was being teamed up on all around, Honey Lemon took pity on him and gently nudged Gogo, a silent request for her to not elaborate on the incident any further (because it was clear from her face that she was ready to). Gogo let out a soft sigh of disappointment, but granted Honey’s request.

 

            “So point is, it’s possible. Save some liver cells for the vodka I brought you ok?” Gogo said, shooting Hiro a pointed look, leaving no room for arguments.

 

            “Eat as much as you can little man,” Wasabi said, ruffling Hiro’s hair. “Because Gogo’s vodka is much more hardcore than Fred’s cider. I have too many years of experience.”

 

            “Lay off. You accept my offerings every time anyway.”

 

            The friends playfully bickered for another half hour before finishing up lunch. Shortly after cleaning up, Gogo, with an ominous tone, announced that it was time for her to share her pick of alcohol with Hiro. She pulled out a clear bottle from her bag along with a small pack of plastic shot glasses; similar to Fred, she poured a glass for Hiro first.

 

            “I normally don’t allow people to take sips of my vodka,” Gogo said, handing the shot glass to Hiro. “But seeing how this is your first time experiencing vodka, I’ll allow it.”

  
            “Please Gogo, don’t underestimate me.” Hiro replied cockily, taking the glass and downing the liquid in one shot.

 

            “Hiro!” Tadashi exclaimed in shock. Gogo blinked in surprise for a couple of seconds, but nodded approvingly.

 

            “Oh man, maybe that wasn’t the best idea,” Hiro said, laughing nervously as he clutched his chest. “That stuff BURNS.”

 

            “You have spunk kid. I like that.” Gogo said, almost proudly.

 

            “I can see the appeal of vodka,” Hiro said after a few seconds of allowing the burn in his chest to fizzle out. “The burning’s not so bad once you get used to it.”

 

            “That’s the spirit,” Gogo said, pouring shot glasses for the rest of her friends and herself. “Come on guys, don’t let the newbie show you up.”

 

            In the end, Gogo and Wasabi took two shots each while the rest of the group of friends (excluding Hiro since he already drank one) simply settled on one shot. After throwing away the now empty bottle of vodka, the group of friends opened another board game (Cards Against Humanity, courtesy of Fred once again) and played a round where they were required to obtain 7 black cards to win. Much to the surprise of everyone (especially Hiro), Honey Lemon took the crown 45 minutes later.

 

            “Still got it!” Honey exclaimed excitedly.

 

            “Unbelievable.” Hiro said, but he meant it good-naturedly.

 

            “Never underestimate what lies underneath Honey’s kind nature. Ever.” Fred said as he reshuffled the cards for another round.

 

            “You guys can play the next round without me,” Honey Lemon said, standing up. “It’s my turn to prepare the next drink and I’ll need a little time to prepare it for everyone because I need to mix a couple of things.”

 

            “Do you need any help Honey?” Hiro asked, standing up as well.

 

            “Thank you Hiro, but you don’t have to. This way, I can keep the drink a surprise.” Honey said, winking at Hiro.

 

            “We should probably get Hiro’s cake ready first actually,” Tadashi said. “I have a feeling most of us will pass out by the next drink.”

 

            “Judging from your flushed face Tadashi, I’m inclined to agree with you,” Gogo said, standing up. “I’ll get the cake from the fridge.”

 

            “Ok then, I’ll just mix everything up and put it in the fridge for a bit.” Honey Lemon replied.

 

            Honey and Gogo headed over to the kitchen area while Hiro sauntered over to Tadashi, playfully patting his shoulders before going in for a warm hug.

 

            “I’m not THAT red am I?” Tadashi asked, shyly glancing at Hiro. He didn’t want to bother asking Fred or Wasabi lest they teased him too.

 

            “Red enough to be noticeable,” Hiro admitted, nuzzling Tadashi’s cheek. But hey I feel my cheeks flaring too but Gogo hasn’t pointed it out. I think she just likes picking on you.”

 

            “Well you can’t just pick on the birthday boy when it’s his birthday. You’ve got to be nice.”

 

            “True.” Hiro said, beginning to nuzzle the back of Tadashi’s neck. Tadashi didn’t particularly mind until he started feeling sensations that could only be attributable to teeth.

 

            “H-hey, don’t bite me Hiro,” Tadashi said, giggling at the feeling of his small boyfriend nibbling at his skin. He gently pushed Hiro’s face away. “I’m sensitive there.”

 

            “What happened to ‘being nice’ to the birthday boy huh?” Hiro pouted, glaring accusingly at Tadashi.

 

            “Um…” Tadashi suddenly felt his heartbeat pounding in his ears. Was it from the alcohol or was it from Hiro?

 

            “Hey Hiro! Where do you keep your matches?” Gogo called from the kitchen counter, interrupting Hiro’s and Tadashi’s conversation (much to Tadashi’s relief). Hiro hurried over to the kitchen, opening a couple of drawers before handing a pack of matches to Gogo. Meanwhile Tadashi excused himself to go to the bathroom, needing a brief moment to clear his head, which was admittedly starting to get hazy from the alcohol. He briefly wondered if the alcohol was getting to Hiro too, because he usually wasn’t so touchy-feely.

 

            He returned right as his friends were getting ready to sing the birthday song, the cake now alight with six small candles (“One from each of us to Hiro!” Honey explained). The group of friends then proceeded to sing (they were a little off-key, but Hiro didn’t particularly mind) and cheer after Hiro blew out the candles. Hiro, to his slight embarrassment, struggled slightly with cutting the cake (“Ice cream gets quite solid when it has been in the fridge for hours ok?” Hiro grumbled), ultimately resulting in Tadashi helping him. After everyone finished their slice, Honey put the remainder of the cake (probably around 60% of the original) back into the fridge and took out her drink. Just like Fred and Gogo before her, she filled Hiro’s cup first.

 

            “So this here is just a simple mix of cranberry juice, pineapple juice, and coconut rum,” Honey Lemon explained, showing Hiro the cup, which was now full of light red liquid. “It’s something that I learned how to make after I took a trip to visit a good friend of mine in the Caribbean to discuss chemistry. I hope you like it.”

 

            Hiro took his cup from Honey’s hand and tentatively took a sip.

 

            “Ooh…it’s sweet! I wasn’t expecting that at all!” Hiro said, quite delighted.

 

            “It’s tasty right?” Honey gushed as she poured the drink for her other friends as well.

  
            “Heck yeah!” Hiro replied, downing more of the liquid.

 

            “Be careful there genius,” Gogo chided from the side. “Just because it’s sweet and doesn’t burn much doesn’t mean it’s not going to mess you up.”

 

            “It’ll be wise to heed Gogo’s words Hiro,” Fred agreed, taking a sip himself. “It’s quite like Honey herself actually. Sweet on the outside but dangerous on the inside.”

 

            “Awww thanks guys!”

           

            “Oh I’m fine,” Hiro muttered, though his face was getting redder by the second. He was probably hitting his limit. “Come on, what game are we playing next?”

 

            “Oh it’s one of my personal favorites,” Wasabi said, picking out a small box (no bigger than a box full of standard poker cards) “It’s called, ‘Saboteur’*.”

 

            “Never heard of that one before,” Hiro said. “Care to explain the rules?”

 

            The group of friends played Saboteur for almost an hour. Due to the fact that everyone was pretty tipsy (or at least getting there), there was a lot of yelling, accusing, and laughing all around. At some point, Hiro crawled onto Tadashi’s lap and cuddled against his boyfriend. At first, Tadashi had gotten extremely nervous at the fact that Hiro was cuddling against him (especially since all of his friends were watching him), but it turned out that Hiro had just wanted a comfortable place to fall asleep. It didn’t take very for Tadashi, Honey Lemon, and Fred to follow after; all of them tended to get sleepy from alcohol as well. Due to their greater experience with alcohol, they were able to fight it off a little longer than Hiro could; but even they soon gave in and all passed out on the floor.

 

            The party, with the majority of its members now fast asleep, grew much quieter after that. Gogo and Wasabi, the only two out of the group that could really hold their alcohol, played a few quiet games of poker together while the others napped together in a giant pile on the floor. At some point, Gogo excused herself briefly to grab a thin blanket for her sleeping friends. She knew that Hiro hadn’t formally introduced her to his room so she technically shouldn’t have entered it, but she could apologize for it later (she’d rather her friends not get uncomfortable on the floor after all).

           

            A little before 7, Gogo heard the familiar sound of a car horn blaring just outside the front door; it could only have been Healthcliff at this hour.  She walked over to the door and opened it, seeing that it was indeed Healthcliff’s car. She waved briefly to Healthcliff to let him know that she was going to get Fred and the others soon. When she returned to the dining room table, she was happy to see that the noise from Healthcliff’s car had woken up her sleeping friends (excluding Hiro). Unsurprisingly, they were all still a little groggy, especially Honey and Fred.

 

            “Alright, party’s over. It’s time to get everyone home,” Gogo said packing up her cards and gesturing to Wasabi. “Wasabi you get Fred. I’ll get Honey.”

 

            “Yes ma’m.” Wasabi dutifully replied, picking up the sleepy Fred by his shoulder. After securing Fred against his right shoulder, Wasabi slung Gogo’s bag of board games over his other shoulder.

 

            “Healthcliff’s here?” Tadashi asked, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. To his displeasure, the sides of his head were throbbing (not super painfully, but definitely painful enough to be annoying).

 

            “Yep.” Gogo replied curtly while she worked to secure Honey’s much taller body against her back. It was a ludicrous sight to see Gogo carrying Honey piggy-back style (after all, Honey must have been more than a foot taller than Gogo), but at the same time, Tadashi knew that there was no one more capable of handling this situation than her.

 

            “So…are you coming with us or are you going to stay with him?” Gogo asked, peeking past Tadashi to gaze at Hiro, who appeared to still be deeply asleep. She gestured for Wasabi to go ahead with Fred to save time.

 

            “Yeah I think it’d be for the best if I stayed with him,” Tadashi said, popping some of his compressed joints. “We need to make sure he’s ok, since this was his first time drinking alcohol and all. If worst comes to worst and I’m not up for going back home, I’ll just stay the night. I’m sure Hiro wouldn’t mind.”

 

            “Ok…Night Tadashi,” Gogo said, following in Wasabi’s footsteps. “Tell Hiro thanks for inviting us over when he wakes up.”

 

            “I will. Make sure to take care of Honey Lemon and Fred for me.” Tadashi said, cracking a gentle smile.

 

            “Oh, it’s not Honey or Fred I’m particularly worried about.” Gogo said, popping her gum while staring straight at Tadashi. Tadashi blinked in confusion.

 

            “What do you mean?” Tadashi asked, not quite understanding Gogo’s statement. What did he miss? What was Gogo implying?

 

            “Haha…Oh, it’s nothing,” Gogo said, though her smirk totally said otherwise. “Don’t worry about it. See you around.”

 

            Tadashi watched all of his friends get into Healthcliff’s car before closing the front door behind him and locking it. At the sound of the door making contact with its frame, Hiro groaned quietly from where he was sleeping on the floor; needless to say, Tadashi swiftly made his way back to his boyfriend, not even bothering to see if Healthcliff’s car pulled away from the house.

 

            “How are you feeling Hiro? Do you feel sick?” Tadashi asked, stroking Hiro’s hair. At Tadashi’s touch, Hiro’s eyes fluttered open.

 

            “No. Just have a headache.” Hiro replied hoarsely after gathering his thoughts.

 

            “I’ll get you some water.” Tadashi said, getting up and making his way to his bag. He took out a fresh bottle of water before returning to Hiro; Tadashi gently helped Hiro sit up before giving him the bottle of water to drink lest Hiro spill water all over himself. Hiro took a good long sip from the bottle.

 

            “Alright, back to lying down now please.” Hiro joked lightly as he placed the water bottle on the floor.

 

            “Yeah, I need to lie down too.” Tadashi chuckled, taking a drink from the water bottle himself. “But let’s lie down on the couch. I think that’ll be more comfortable for us.”

 

            “Good idea. Actually, let’s head back to the garage. The couch there is more comfortable.”

 

            Tadashi helped Hiro up and the two made their way out of Hiro’s living room and into his garage. Tadashi lay down on their favorite cuddling spot first before pulling Hiro on top of him.

 

            “Ugh my head’s killing me.” Tadashi groaned. He had hoped that he would nap through most of the metabolism process, but he wasn’t lucky enough this time.

 

            “We didn’t even drink that much,” Hiro whined, planting his face on Tadashi’s chest. “If I had known alcohol would come with such a price, I would’ve just settled for the board games and food.”

 

            “Well, it was interesting experience wasn’t it?” Tadashi asked, smiling gently at Hiro. “And besides, we have great friends to take care of us, so it could’ve been much worse. Maybe we should feed you more food next time or something.”  

 

            “Where is the rest of the nerd group by the way?” Hiro asked, only realizing now that he didn’t see them anywhere. Clearly Hiro’s brain was still playing catch up in many ways.

 

            “Oh they just left. I stayed behind because I thought you might need some company. I wanted to make sure you were ok.”

 

            “Ah.”

 

            Hiro remained silent for a couple of minutes, his eyelids drooping as if he was deep in thought.

 

            “Man, I thought they’d NEVER leave.” Hiro whispered softly, his fingers curling tightly around Tadashi’s shirt.

 

            “Eh?” Tadashi asked, confused at Hiro’s statement; it took all but two seconds for Tadashi’s eyes to get sad and hurt. Hiro blinked and swiftly turned his gaze away from Tadashi, his cheeks flushing in embarrassment.

 

            “Shoot, did I say that out-loud?” Hiro groaned, rubbing his forehead.

 

            “Hiro,” Tadashi said softly, gently stroking his boyfriend’s wild mane of hair. “Are you really feeling ok?”

 

            There was no other possible explanation for Hiro’s suddenly strange behavior was there? Hiro loved his friends and had a great time, didn’t he? To Tadashi’s growing anxiety, Hiro remained silent.

 

            “Hiro, what’s wr−“

 

            Hiro spared a second to cup Tadashi’s cheek before promptly kissing him on the lips, silencing his boyfriend.

 

            “You really don’t get it, do you…” Hiro whispered, his eyes boring into Tadashi’s. Tadashi audibly gulped, a wave of redness promptly erupting across his cheeks and all the way up to his ears when he saw the fire burning in Hiro’s eyes. _Actually,_   _that sure is a really innocent way to put it_ ,  _isn’t it_  Tadashi thought absentmindedly.  

 

            “Oh my…” Tadashi whispered as he felt Hiro’s fingers weave themselves into his hair.  _This can’t be happening_  Tadashi thought, the pain of his headache increasing with each passing second.

 

            “You’re such a cute dork.” Hiro smirked, kissing along Tadashi’s strong jaw line before making his way up to Tadashi’s big ears (that were getting increasingly red the more Hiro kissed them). Tadashi whimpered quietly; a frisky touchy-feely Hiro, as he was finding out more and more today, was a very dangerous Hiro. It took a couple of deep breaths for Tadashi to regain his focus.

 

            “Hiro, don’t do this,” Tadashi said, gently pulling Hiro away from teasing his ear (while Tadashi knew that Hiro liked his ears, he considered his ears restricted territory in this context). “You’re not yourself right now, so let’s just…take a nap right now ok? That headache is probably killing you as much as it is killing me.”

 

            “What? No…We were just getting started…” Hiro said, pouting. He tried breaking free from Tadashi’s hold, but Tadashi held firm, locking Hiro against his chest and away from his face.  

 

            “You sound and look like a child who had just had his favorite snack taken away from him.” Tadashi couldn’t help but tease Hiro (though if he was to be completely honest, he was totally bluffing and was actually desperately trying to regain control of the situation).

 

            “Did you just imply that you’re my favorite snack?”

 

            “W-what? Of course not.” Tadashi said, his voice cracking against his will. To be fair, he totally did (by accident though of course).

 

            “I didn’t think you had it in you.” Hiro cocked an eyebrow, eyes glinting mischievously. A fresh wave of redness erupted across Tadashi’s cheeks.

 

            “Ok, that’s enough! Time to sleep!” Tadashi said awkwardly, reaching out to his left to turn off the garage lights; solid darkness soon descended upon the two, but it hardly made Tadashi’s racing heart slow down.

 

            “That’s so unfair…” Hiro pouted as he sensed defeat (due to his shorter stature, Hiro didn’t have nearly as much reach as Tadashi did, so he couldn’t turn the lights back on from his current position).  But he had to admit: his throbbing headache was getting to a point of great discomfort, and a nap sounded like a god-send at the moment.

 

            “You can kiss me all you want when we wake up,” Tadashi said, kissing Hiro on the forehead. Even when he was trying to be serious and put his foot down, he couldn’t quite harden his heart completely. He just had too big of a soft spot for his boyfriend didn’t he? “Including my ears if you really want. Deal?”

 

            “…Deal.” Hiro said, vaguely satisfied with the compromise. Tadashi had never been so relieved in his life to hear that word.  _This guy will be the death of me_  Tadashi thought.

 

            “Hey, let me quickly take off my cardigan…” Tadashi said, shrugging off said article of clothing.

 

            “Hehe…. you should take off your shirt too.” Hiro giggled quietly.

 

            “Hiro no….” Tadashi chided, wrapping his cardigan around Hiro.

 

            “Well, maybe after we wake up you’ll change your mind.” Hiro mumbled, cuddling against Tadashi, finally submitting to his headache.  

 

            “….Yeah, maybe…” Tadashi said, though he didn’t really sound like he was actually committing to anything. He cuddled his boyfriend closer to him despite the fact that Hiro’s behavior at the moment made him slightly uncomfortable. He secretly prayed in his mind that Hiro wouldn’t remember this when he woke up.

 

            It took about half an hour for Hiro to fully pass out; when Tadashi felt Hiro’s body grow completely lax, he finally allowed himself to drift off to sleep. Considering how much his head was pounding, he hoped that the nap would be long and refreshing.

 

            To Tadashi’s misfortune, it wasn’t too long after he fell asleep that he was awakened by the bright lights of Hiro’s garage. Blinking away sleep, he realized that Hiro was still passed out on top of him, his breathing deep and steady. Tadashi’s brain caught up with him in a couple of seconds: if Hiro was still asleep and he just woke up, how were the garage lights turned on? Rubbing his eyes gently, he took a quick glance down at his watch; it was currently 9:08 at night.

           

            Tadashi gently shook Hiro awake, careful to shield his eyes so that he wouldn’t have to deal with the same discomfort Tadashi had. It took a couple of minutes (Hiro was never quite good at waking up, especially from such a deep nap) but eventually, Hiro was awake enough to understand what Tadashi was saying.

 

            “Hiro, the lights were turned on when I woke up. Did someone come in?”

           

            Hiro blinked in thought for a brief second before he scrambled off Tadashi, Tadashi’s cardigan falling to the ground in consequence.

           

            “Oh my god! It can’t be!” Hiro exclaimed, surprise clearly in his eyes and voice.

           

            “Hiro?” Tadashi asked, getting off the couch himself. He took a brief second to pick up his cardigan from the floor.

           

            “There’s only one person it could be.” Hiro muttered, opening the door that connected the garage to the rest of his house. Tadashi quickly followed after his boyfriend, processing what Hiro had said.

  
  
            “Wait…Don’t tell me that the reason why the lights were on was because…”

           

            Tadashi didn’t get to finish his sentence before he got his answer. There, standing in the kitchen, was a middle-aged woman preparing what seemed to be a small cake; it only took a brief second for her to notice that she had company. She made eye contact with Tadashi first; Tadashi felt his heart stop when he saw her eyes, the shape and the rich brown color so familiar to him. Her thin lips, equally as familiar, curled into a knowing smile before she turned her attention to Hiro, who had started rubbing his neck in embarrassment.

           

            “Hey mom. What brings you back home?”

 

TBC

*Saboteur game (in case anyone is curious) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saboteur_(card_game)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Cackles* Well Tadashi, how are you going to get out of this one? Heh heh /punted  
> As mentioned before, this story will have a part 2 to it (for the first time) instead of taking up the next installment. I don’t think it’s going to be particularly long, but I hope it’ll move the story along to the point where I want it to be.
> 
> It’s funny but the part right before the ending…can you believe that I had written that stuff out like, when I was writing the fourth installment? Hahaha I realized that it didn’t quite fit in the fourth installment (because that installment was so serious lol) but…I couldn’t find it in my heart to get rid of it completely, so I kept it around, hoping one day I’d get to use it. I’m very happy that I could! xD Poor Tadashi though…he can’t ever catch a break lol
> 
> I apologize for the wait. I feel like I need to take a brief break from writing this story…*ahaha the dreaded words* because it has been harder and harder to write. I feel like it’s in part because I’ve been really pushing myself to improve and because I feel like I’ll disappoint a lot of people if I write this series badly;;; xD;;;;; /sighs at self  
> But hopefully if I do, I’ll spend the break drawing pictures to supplement my story. Fingers crossed.
> 
> Don’t worry too much though. There are a few things I still want to write and I’m sure I’ll get more ideas along the way. But sometimes you just got to let your creativity rest for a little…./punted Or maybe it’s just me.
> 
> On a random note, you can totally tell what kind of alcohol I drink on the rare occasion. Lmao Please don’t judge me orz Also it must seem weird to some of you that the gang got sleepy and got headaches not too long after drinking. I apologize...I have very limited experience to base this chapter on. xDDD. I don't really hold my alcohol too great...(the headaches aren't horrible i suppose but they're definitely annoying) and my two best friends (who are really the only people I've drank alcohol with) literally get really sleepy after drinking. It's hilarious...but it's so cute when they end up cuddling lolololol 
> 
> Come talk to me on Tumblr! @ RL4r.tumblr.com!!! I’d love to meet all of you who support me so much here. <3 Much love~.


	2. Birthday Surprises Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tadashi spends the day with Hiro and his mother. It goes as well as he could have hoped. 
> 
> Well, except for maybe one LITTLE thing (actually it was a pretty big thing).
> 
> Oh man someone give Tadashi strength.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy (Tadashi's eternal suffering at my hands nyehehehehehehhhhh)! 
> 
> *Shot*
> 
> Sorry this took so long to update. I was on vacation for 10 days and internet was shitty until about the 8th day, and alas I didn't have enough time to type everything because my little bro's chrome book doesn't have Microsoft word (obviously) and he's a nosy butt so I could never type much.
> 
> But I hope you enjoy it regardless. Thank you for your patience.
> 
> Heavily alludes to the Fourth installment, so if you haven't read that one, I'd suggest reading it before reading this.

            

Birthday Surprises Part 2

 

            Tadashi had never felt so scared in his life.

 

            Sure, he has had multiple academic presentations to do in his college career, as well as job interviews and the like. All in all, there have been multiple scenarios in Tadashi’s life that had caused their fair share of fear.

 

            But this definitely took the cake for worst possible scenario ever. The prospect of meeting one’s significant other’s parents (or in this case parent) was horrifying enough; the fact that Tadashi wasn’t mentally prepared for it yet made the fact that he was meeting Hiro’s mother right now all the worse.

 

            Tadashi and Hiro sat next to one another at the dining table while Hiro’s mother sat across from them, preparing Hiro’s cake. Tadashi stole quick glances at Hiro’s mother as she cut the cake on the table into slices. She was a petite woman, a little shorter than Hiro in stature and just as thin; her hair, tied in a neat bun, was auburn in color (Tadashi half wondered if that was her natural hair color). The thing about her appearance that struck Tadashi the most were her eyes; her eyes were similarly shaped and were the same beautiful chestnut brown color as Hiro’s eyes. He wondered if Hiro had inherited his thick lashes from her as well, though his curiosity couldn’t surmount his growing fear (so he didn’t dare take a closer look).

 

            When Hiro’s mother placed a plate with a slice of cake in front of him (since when did she get up from her seat?), Tadashi literally flinched in response. Hiro would’ve laughed at such a thing if he wasn’t so nervous himself.

 

            “Have some cake dear. I know it’s not as fresh as it could be, but the bus ride home took a little longer than expected.” Hiro’s mother said jovially, offering Tadashi a plastic fork as she talked. Tadashi laughed nervously, hand shaking as he accepted the offered utensil.

 

            “T-thank you.” Tadashi replied.

 

            “Did Aunt Kiki make this mom?” Hiro asked, noticing Tadashi’s discomfort and hoping to deflect his mother’s attention.

 

            “Yes, she did. Make sure to send her a message later to thank her dear.” Hiro’s mother said as she gave Hiro a slice of cake and fork as well. With her hands now free, she ruffled Hiro’s hair affectionately, quite similar to how Tadashi always did.

           

            “…Ok.”

 

            “Happy Birthday Hiro!!” the petite woman said, clapping her hands together in quiet excitement.

 

            “Thanks mom. Glad you can come home this year.” Hiro said, smiling gently. He stood up and then pulled his mom into a warm hug.

 

            “You’re welcome Hiro. But it seems like you had a swell time today without me didn’t you?”

 

            Hiro and Tadashi glanced at each other, their cheeks flushing slightly; they were unsure of exactly how to respond. Was she referring to the fact that the trash was full of cups and pizza boxes or was it the fact that she spotted them cuddling together in the garage? Tadashi thanked his lucky stars that his friends had helped clean up all the empty alcohol bottles though. In addition, Hiro’s mother’s words, though teasingly playful, seemed to also have a slight jealous-and-defensive undertone to them.

 

            “Um yeah…Tadashi and his friends came over to celebrate with me,” Hiro said, scratching the back of his neck. He sat back down. “I mean, I usually DO spend my birthdays alone so…it was honestly very nice of them to come over.”

 

            “I’m assuming that you’re ‘Tadashi’ young man?”

 

            “Yes ma’m.” Tadashi said, his voice cracking slightly in his nervousness.

 

            “I see. Well, nice to meet you Tadashi,” Hiro’s mother said, offering a delicate hand for Tadashi to shake. He shook her hand gently in consequence. “As you know by now, I’m Hiro’s mother, and you can call me Mrs. Takachiko. I apologize for the suddenness of my visit, but I had wanted to surprise Hiro for his birthday you see. I know it gets lonely for him sometimes as no one’s ever really home.”

 

            Mrs. Takachiko paused in her thoughts before she continued talking.

 

            “Course, it seems like I’m the most surprised one here. I come home to find a man I’ve never seen before in my life in my house and holding my son in his arms.”

 

            Both Tadashi and Hiro remained silent at that statement, guilt gnawing at their guts while embarrassment danced across their faces. When it was clear that the silence was going to continue dragging on unless she spoke, Mrs. Takachiko placed her hands firmly on her hips and bluntly spoke her piece.

 

            “So…since neither of you seem to be willing to break the news to me…I’ll just go ahead and ask for official confirmation. Are you two dating?”

 

            Hiro flinched at his mother’s words, but knew that there wasn’t any point in hiding the fact anymore; he simply nodded. He reached over and placed his hand on top of Tadashi’s.

 

            “Yeah mom. Um, Tadashi and I have been dating…for about four months now actually.” Hiro answered, voice soft but clear. Mrs. Takachiko’s eyebrows shot up into her bangs at Hiro’s statement, clearly very surprised at the news. Tadashi couldn’t blame her though; it was one thing to find out that your son was dating and it was another to find out that he has been dating for a couple of months already.

 

            “He’s very kind and loving and all that good stuff,” Hiro said, clearly a little unnerved by his mother’s silent judgment. “So don’t worry about me…and all that jazz. Heh.”

 

            Hiro looked at Tadashi in hopes that he would continue the deteriorating conversation, but his boyfriend remained silent, his brain completely blank.

 

            “Well…this is…quite a lot to take in,” Mrs. Takachiko said, combing her fingers gently through her hair. She didn’t sound particularly pleased but she didn’t sound angry either. “It’s not every day that you find out that your precious child is dating someone. It feels a little surreal.”

 

            “I…I was going to tell you mom,” Hiro said, fiddling with his shirt. “But I guess I was just a little scared about the whole thing you know? I’m…I’m sorry that I kept this from you.”

 

            Mrs. Takachiko couldn’t help but laugh softly at her son’s guilty sad face; despite the fact that she was a little miffed that Hiro had kept this from her, she understood where he was coming from. After all, it wasn’t like she didn’t have to deal with the same problem herself a couple of decades ago.

 

            “I understand Hiro, and I accept your apology,” Hiro’s mother replied, much to the relief of both Hiro and Tadashi. “Though that being said, we still have a lot to talk about, don’t we?”

 

            “Yes, I know.”

 

            “Our conversation will have to wait until the morning though because I’m very tired,” Mrs. Takachiko said, yawning. “And I don’t want to say anything I know I’d regret in the morning, so I’m going to bed. Please put the rest of the cake in the fridge before you go to bed Hiro. Goodnight.”

 

            “Yes mom. Goodnight.” Hiro said obediently.

 

            “Goodnight Tadashi.” Mrs. Takachiko addressed Tadashi as well. Her tone was stern, but Tadashi didn’t sense anything worse than that.

 

            “Goodnight Mrs. Takachiko. Thank you for the cake.” Tadashi said, bowing his head slightly.

 

            After addressing both men, Mrs. Takachiko excused herself from their presence. The moment Hiro deemed that his mother was out of earshot, he breathed a loud sigh of relief.

 

            “Well, I guess that could’ve gone a lot worse.” Hiro said as he carefully placed the leftover cake into the fridge like his mother told him to.

 

            “Yeah, I guess.” Tadashi said, his brain function slowly returning now that Hiro’s mother wasn’t scrutinizing him anymore.

 

            “I don’t think she dislikes you or anything at least,” Hiro said, settling comfortably into Tadashi’s lap. “It’s not like she insisted for you to leave or anything right?”

 

            “I mean, I guess?”

 

            “So will you stay the night?” Hiro asked, his doe-like eyes pleading. “I don’t want to face her ‘necessary talk’ alone tomorrow morning. I’m actually quite scared.”

 

            “…Wouldn’t she judge me harder and for the worse if I stay?” Tadashi asked, feeling dubious about the whole idea.

 

            “…You could stay in the guest room?” Hiro suggested. Tadashi pondered for a moment before he made his decision.

 

            "Tell you what…how about I go home tonight but come over early tomorrow morning?”

 

            “Aww…but why?” Hiro asked, pouting.

 

            “Well for one, I don’t think your mother would appreciate me staying the night in her household under the circumstances, whether or not it’s with you or separated from you,” Tadashi explained, gently rubbing circles against Hiro’s hands. “And besides, I’m guessing she wants to spend tomorrow shopping for groceries and the like for you, so I could borrow Aunt Cass’ van to help her out?”

 

            “Hmm…that’s true.” Hiro acknowledged (though judging from his continuous pouting, Tadashi knew that he was still unhappy about the decision).

 

            “When do you think your mom will be awake?”

 

            “Probably around 9? It might be even later considering how tiring the bus ride must have been.”

 

            “Ok, I’ll be over before 9 then.” Tadashi said firmly.

 

            “Promise?”

 

            “Yes, I promise.” Tadashi said, placing a gentle kiss on Hiro’s forehead.

 

            Hiro then pulled Tadashi into a tight hug, much to his surprise.

 

            “Hiro?”

 

            “I’m sorry I didn’t tell my mom about you…” Hiro whispered against Tadashi’s shoulder. He almost sounded like he was going to start crying (the poor thing, caught between both boyfriend and mother). “Please don’t be offended…”

 

            “Oh Hiro, don’t worry about that,” Tadashi said, chuckling softly. The thought hadn’t even crossed his mind to be honest. “I completely understand. It’s never easy telling someone who raised you that you’re dating someone. I’m not offended at all.”

 

            “Oh god, if you are offended…please just say so…seriously. I mean, you told Aunt Cass about me right off the bat. It’s not fair that I didn’t tell my mom about you.” Hiro insisted.

 

            “I’m not though, and please I didn’t tell her anything. It was more like she found out on her own because she was being nosy. Anyway, I can’t tell you how scared I was of Aunt Cass finding out about my first date. Trust me I’m seriously not offended.”

 

            “Ok…” Hiro whispered softly, finally meeting Tadashi’s eyes again.

 

            “I’d better get going before it gets too late. I’ll text you when I get home ok?” Tadashi said softly, easing Hiro off of him and standing up.

 

            “Mmm…”

 

            Hiro walked Tadashi to the garage door, fiddling with his shirt the whole time. It was clear that he was deep in thought.

 

            “Get some sleep Hiro. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Tadashi said softly before kissing him on the cheek. He started walking out of the garage.  

 

            “Yeah…goodnight Tadashi. See you tomorrow.” Hiro replied, his face drooping in a mixture of sadness and anxiety at the sight of his boyfriend leaving. Tadashi couldn’t help but turn back around, concern for Hiro overriding the fact that he really should get going. Aunt Cass was probably worried sick about him.  

 

            “We’ll get through this together…like we do every time Hiro. C’mon….buck up knucklehead.”

 

            “If things go badly with my mom…I might lose you. That’s a scary thought you know…”  
  
           

             “…I’m sure that won’t happen. At the very least, I’ll try my best to ensure it doesn’t ok?”  
  
          

            “…Ok. Goodnight kiss for good luck?”

 

            Tadashi smiled gently, leaning in to kiss Hiro on the lips.

 

            “Second kiss for extra good luck?” Hiro pleaded. Tadashi burst out in laughter.

 

            “Ok, since you asked so nicely,” Tadashi said, indulging his boyfriend with another kiss. He felt a little silly doing this (if there had been any passer-bys at this hour, they probably would have thought he was crazy), but he was being rewarded with a happier-looking Hiro, so he supposed it was all for the best. “Goodnight Hiro.”

 

            Tadashi made it back to the Lucky Cat Café without much trouble after that. To his relief, he discovered that Aunt Cass (who happened to be awake because it was movie night) wasn’t mad at him because his friends had told her why he stayed over late at Hiro’s house. Tadashi made a mental note to thank his friends for the save; he needed to ask Aunt Cass for a big favor and the last thing Tadashi wanted was for her to be mad at him.  
  
            Tadashi asked Aunt Cass if he could borrow her delivery van for tomorrow, briefly explaining why he was in need of it (to his eternal gratitude, Aunt Cass didn’t ask him any questions about his EXACT situation). To his relief, his aunt agreed to let him borrow the van for the day, on the condition that he let her delivery man borrow his moped to do deliveries instead. It cut Tadashi deep inside to hear that someone else would use his beloved moped, but he agreed, knowing that Hiro was more important than said moped anyday. Aunt Cass passed him the keys to her van and Tadashi passed her the keys to his moped; after said exchange, Tadashi excused himself for the night.

 

            Now that he had the necessary means of transportation, it was just a matter of getting to Hiro’s house on time. He set his alarm clock, his phone, and even requested Baymax to set an alarm as well.

 

            This was a very important occasion, and he was going to make sure that he didn’t mess it all up, for both his sake and Hiro’s.

 

             Especially Hiro’s.

 

***

 

            It had been awhile since Tadashi had driven a motor vehicle besides his beloved moped, but he made it to Hiro's house early (he pulled up a little after 8:30) and without incidence the following morning in Aunt Cass’ van. After parking the vehicle at the corner of the block, Tadashi shot a quick call for Hiro to open the door for him; within seconds, Hiro opened the garage door and happily greeted his boyfriend with a hug.

 

            "Thanks for coming." Hiro said, smiling at Tadashi.

 

            "Of course Hiro," Tadashi said, letting Hiro go after a couple of seconds and stepping into the garage. "So what's the situation?"

 

            "My mom is still asleep, but I'm sure she'll wake up soon. Hopefully I can squeeze in making breakfast before she does wake up."

 

            "Let me help you with breakfast."

 

            "What I’m planning to make isn’t particularly complicated," Hiro replied, closing the garage door behind him and gesturing for Tadashi to follow him. "But I'm not a man who refuses help in the kitchen. Did you eat breakfast before you came?"

 

            "Not much to be honest...I just had an apple."

 

            "Alright then, let's work on breakfast for the three of us then."

 

            The pair worked quietly preparing breakfast together in the kitchen; Hiro had decided on a simple breakfast consisting of rice, miso soup, and scrambled eggs. Hiro focused more on the preparation of the ingredients while Tadashi focused more on actually cooking said ingredients. They finished up right as Mrs. Takachiko made her way into the kitchen, still comfortably wearing her pajamas with her auburn hair down.

 

            “Oh! Didn’t think I’d see you again so soon Tadashi.” Hiro’s mother exclaimed. She seemed both surprised and confused.

 

            “Good morning Mrs. Takachiko.” Tadashi greeted politely.

 

            “…Good morning.”

 

            “We made breakfast mom. Get it while it’s still hot.” Hiro said, gesturing to the dining room table. Mrs. Takachiko couldn’t help but giggle lightly at Hiro’s enthusiasm.

 

            “I feel so special,” she said as she sat down at the table. “It’s not every day that I get to enjoy a breakfast someone else made for me.”

 

            Hiro’s mother seemed pleased with the gesture, and ate her breakfast without any complaints. Hiro and Tadashi kept shooting quick glances at each other when Mrs. Takachiko wasn’t looking, quietly giving each other emotional support as they ate breakfast. They knew “the talk” would follow shortly after.

 

            Breakfast ended by 9:30; after clearing the table, Mrs. Takachiko requested for Hiro and Tadashi to sit across from her at the table. Now that she had a good night’s sleep and breakfast, she seemed to be a better mood than yesterday night. Tadashi was grateful for that.

 

            “Don’t look so nervous gentlemen,” she joked gently. “It’s not like you’re being interrogated by the cops or something.”

 

            “Actually, I think being interrogated by the cops would be less scary.” Hiro replied quietly. Mrs. Takachiko shrugged nonchalantly (though when she thought about it, she supposed Hiro had a point).

 

            “Anyway, so let’s just start from the beginning. How did you two meet?”

 

            The discussion about Tadashi and Hiro’s relationship continued for almost an hour. Most of Mrs. Takachiko’s questions were pretty typical (if they have been on dates, what Tadashi planned to do in the future, etc.) and relatively easy to answer, much to Tadashi’s relief. The only time the discussion got a little awkward was when Tadashi had to explain why he was living with his aunt instead of his parents.

 

            It seemed that that particular topic stopped the string of questions cold. Tadashi and Hiro thought they were off the hook at first.

 

            But it seemed that it was Tadashi who was temporarily off the hook, not Hiro.

 

            “So…I see that you got your right ear pierced Hiro. You didn’t have a black earring when I was here about 2 months ago. Care to explain?”

 

            Hiro visibly flinched, hand instinctively flying to cover his right ear lobe. How could he have forgotten?

 

            “Y-yeah, I did. Recently! Just last week actually. Yeah…” Hiro replied, his mouth curling upwards in a guilty embarrassed smile.

 

            “Uh-huh.”

 

            “It looks good though right?”

 

            “Hm.” Mrs. Takachiko didn’t express disagreement with Hiro’s statement outright, but she still didn’t seem particularly happy either.

 

            “Guess I can’t stop you from doing such things forever,” she replied, sighing deeply. “I just hope that you keep making informed decisions. You’re applying the antimicrobial solution every day like you’re supposed to do right?”

 

            “Yes.”

 

            “You got the piercing by ear gun or needle?”

 

            “Needle.”

 

            “Hm. Ok well, that’s all I have left to say on the matter I suppose. So let’s get started with our day.”

 

            “We’re going shopping right mom?” Hiro asked. “Tadashi offered to drive us there today.”

 

            “Is this true Tadashi?” Mrs. Takachiko addressed Tadashi.

 

            "Yes Mrs. Takachiko. I borrowed my aunt's van today because I figured we'd need to buy some groceries. There's plenty of space for all of us."

 

            "Hm well... seeing as how my car is at my relative's place, I really don't have a choice. Thank you for offering us a ride today Tadashi."

  
             "You're welcome Mrs. Takachiko. And please, don't worry about it. I understand. Shall we head out now?"

  
  
             "Actually, I wanted to bring Hiro to get a quick haircut first. His hair is looking more and more like a bird's nest."

  
  
             "Hey.." Hiro whined, pouting at his mom's words.

  
  
             "I don't know how you manage to continuously charm Tadashi with hair like that," Mrs. Takachiko joked. Tadashi was half-tempted to say that he loved Hiro's hair perfectly fine, but he figured that Hiro's mother wouldn't appreciate having her opinion debated, so he kept quiet. "But the parlor isn't too far from here. Maybe a 10 minute drive?"

  
  
             "Alright, let's get going then," Tadashi said. "I needed a trim myself actually so I don't mind."

  
  
             "Let me get dressed first and we'll go. Excuse me." Mrs. Takachiko said as she left for her room upstairs. Meanwhile, Hiro shyly laid his head against Tadashi's shoulder.

 

             "You definitely do not need a trim."  he mumbled. Tadashi laughed at Hiro's words. 

 

             "Well, it has been a couple of weeks," Tadashi explained honestly. "It's a little early but it can't hurt."

  
  
             Tadashi turned and hugged Hiro close, stroking Hiro's hair with his left hand.

  
  
             "I'm going to miss ruffling your hair though." Tadashi said fondly.

  
  
             "Don't be silly you big goof," Hiro replied, enjoying the attention Tadashi was giving him. "I'm not going to cut it super short or anything. I'll still have hair for you to play with."

  
  
             "Ok." Tadashi said, laughing happily as he nuzzled Hiro's hair.

  
  
             Tadashi and Hiro soon heard faint thumping noises (it must have been Hiro's mother coming down the stairs) and consequently broke apart. Seconds later, Mrs. Takachiko appeared back in the kitchen, hair once again tied in a neat bun; Tadashi was once again struck by the familiarity of Mrs. Takachiko's eyes.

 

             "Alright boys, lets go. I'll help lead you there Tadashi."

  
  
             The trio exited the house (through the garage) and walked over to Aunt Cass' van. Mrs. Takachiko giggled as she realized that all three of them could sit up front (the van had no back seat); to the surprise of both Tadashi and Hiro, Mrs. Takachiko allowed Hiro to sit next to Tadashi. As they drove, Mrs. Takachiko spent her time looking out the window, almost as if she was lost in her own thoughts. When she didn't address either Hiro nor Tadashi for awhile, Hiro reached to his left to gently clasp Tadashi's hand in his own. Though Tadashi had to keep his attention on the road, he gently squeezed Hiro's hand to signal his affection. 

  
  
             The drive took about 10 minutes; the group was relieved to see that there weren't that many people waiting at the salon. It didn't take long for Hiro and Tadashi to be set up with a barber and start getting their hair cut.

             Tadashi's haircut was, unsurprisingly, faster than Hiro's (Hiro had much more hair after all); after paying for his haircut and tipping his barber appropriately, he made his way to the waiting area to sit with Mrs. Takachiko.

  
  
             "I wonder what that boy and his mother are doing over there."

  
  
             Tadashi followed Mrs. Takachiko's gaze to the customer two seats away from Hiro. They boy was quite young (probably no older than 10 years old); to Tadashi's surprise, he noticed that the little boy was holding multiple small bundles of cut hair. When the boy put the bundles of hair in a sealable plastic bag, Tadashi suddenly realized what the boy must have done.

  
  
             "He grew out his hair to donate it," Tadashi said thoughtfully. "There couldn't be any other reason for him to keep those bundles of neatly tied up hair."

  
             "Mmm." Mrs. Takachiko acknowledged, and to Tadashi's mild horror, she suddenly looked sad.

  
  
             "Mrs. Takachiko...?" he asked gently.

  
  
             "I must apologize. It's always a little distressing to go into one of these places. It brings back unpleasant memories of my husband."

  
  
             Mrs. Takachiko suddenly covered her mouth as if she had spilled some secret she didn't mean to. Tadashi cleared his throat, cheeks flushing uncomfortably.

  
  
             "Um...I know what happened. Hiro told me about it a few months ago," Tadashi explained, slightly embarrassed about the whole situation. "Although, if you don't feel comfortable with talking about it, we can talk about something else."

  
  
             Mrs. Takachiko blinked at Tadashi for a couple of minutes before giggling softly.

  
  
             "Oh excuse me dear. It's quite alright... if Hiro trusted you enough to tell you, then I don't really have any problems with it. But yeah.....sometimes I half-wonder if Hiro avoids cutting his hair because it was so traumatizing to see his father shave all of his off."

  
  
             Tadashi twiddled his thumbs, unsure of how to respond right away.

  
  
             "Well that could be Mrs. Takachiko," Tadashi said, choosing his words carefully. "But perhaps Hiro's just...innocently forgetful? He forgets to go outside sometimes because he's so focused on and passionate about his work."

 

            Mrs. Takachiko considered Tadashi’s words briefly before shrugging gently.

 

            "Maybe you’re right. He gets it from the both of us you know,” Mrs. Takachiko replied, gazing at Hiro. “He gets his passion from his father and his perfectionist nature from me.”

 

            “Did he get his smarts from you as well?” Tadashi playfully asked, quite curious about what Mrs. Takachiko could tell him about Hiro.

 

            “Oh you’re so funny! Well yes, I’d say that he did. I do consider myself to be the smarter one in the marriage. However, my husband was definitely the kinder and more empathetic one. He valued his family above all else. Despite the fact that we were never super well-off, we were happy.”

 

            The two briefly paused in their conversation. Tadashi couldn’t help but place a hand gently on Mrs. Takachiko’s shoulder. She was better at hiding her emotions than Hiro was at hiding his, but Tadashi could tell that her husband’s death was still taking its toll on her; he wasn’t quite sure if a stranger like him could offer any level of comfort, but he was going to try his best anyway.

 

            “How have you been doing since?” Tadashi asked gently.

 

            “It hasn’t been easy on either Hiro or myself,” Mrs. Takachiko replied, accepting Tadashi’s small sign of comfort. “I really hate the fact that I’ve needed to stay away from my beloved son to support us. But hopefully that’ll change in a couple of years if a position opens up for me here.”

 

            “Hiro’s a stubborn boy,” Mrs. Takachiko continued. “I know he grieves and gets lonely as much as I do, but he doesn’t really talk about it much with anyone. But I guess that has changed.” Tadashi was surprised when Mrs. Takachiko smiled gently at him and lightly shook his hand.

 

            “He’s not so lonely anymore, and despite the fact that I haven’t been told about any of it for so long…I’m glad. Thank you Tadashi…and thanks to your friends as well.”

 

            “….It’s my pleasure Mrs. Takachiko.”

 

            The loud blasting sound of a blow dryer interrupted their conversation; it seemed that Hiro was done with his haircut. Mrs. Takachiko got up from her seat and playfully gushed about Hiro’s newly cut hair, much to his embarrassment. After paying for his haircut and tipping his barber, Hiro, with his mother in tow, made their way back to where Tadashi was sitting.

 

            “Let’s get going,” Hiro said, making a face. “Before my mom manages to make me even more embarrassed than I already am.”

 

            “Alright,” Tadashi said, smiling brightly at the sight of Hiro. Hiro still had plenty of hair (as he had promised) but it definitely looked neater and less thick (which was good for the upcoming summer months). Regardless, he was still the adorable Hiro he loved. “We’re going to the supermarket by the local high school right?”

 

            “Yes, that’s the one! Let’s get going.” Mrs. Takachiko said, ushering Tadashi and Hiro out of the salon.

 

            “Hey, you look really cute.” Tadashi whispered to Hiro when Mrs. Takachiko briefly busied herself with opening the door to the van.

 

            “Oh shush.” Hiro whispered back. Despite his words, he was smiling, clearly happy that Tadashi bothered complimenting him. The two shared a tender moment just staring into each other’s eyes before getting into the van.

 

            The trip to the supermarket was mostly uneventful. The only memorable thing about the trip was when Hiro tried to sneak in some snacks at the checkout line. Mrs. Takachiko was hardly fooled or amused; she had Hiro remove all the snacks at once. Tadashi nearly burst out laughing at the sight of Hiro trying to make his mother change her mind by using his best puppy-eyes-expression; it was for naught though, because Mrs. Takachiko had too many years to build up resistance to it.

 

            Tadashi’s heart, on the other hand, softened at the sight (he hadn’t nearly as much time to build up resistance after all). He went up to Hiro when Mrs. Takachiko was paying and whispered, “We’ll get you some next week ok?” in his ear. Hiro rewarded him with a sparkly-eyed expression.

 

            After loading up the van, Mrs. Takachiko requested for Tadashi to take them back home; Tadashi happily obliged. The drive took a little under 15 minutes; the trio was soon bringing all the groceries they had bought into the house. After storing everything away in the appropriate place, Mrs. Takachiko announced that she would make them all lunch. When Tadashi offered to help her, Mrs. Takachiko shooed him off.

 

            “There are just a few small things I want to talk to Hiro about dear,” Mrs. Takachiko explained. “Besides, you’ve done so much for me already, making lunch is the least I could do for you. Why don’t you go upstairs to Hiro’s room and get some rest? All that driving must have made you a little tired.”

 

            Tadashi didn’t feel particularly tired, but he figured that he really should give the two a little privacy; Mrs. Takachiko had probably wanted to talk to Hiro in the morning, but Tadashi’s presence prevented her from doing so. He bowed slightly and left the kitchen, making his way quietly upstairs into Hiro’s room. Not wanting to disturb his boyfriend’s room more than necessary, Tadashi simply lay in bed and stared up at the ceiling; after 10 minutes of doing so, he did doze off a little bit.

           

            He was woken up 20 minutes later by Hiro gently nuzzling his cheek.

 

            “Hey, lunch’s ready.” Hiro said softly. Tadashi blinked away sleep before pulling himself up and off Hiro’s bed. Hiro allowed Tadashi one good stretch before leaning in for a kiss, which Tadashi happily returned.

 

            The two made their way downstairs to the kitchen together; it seemed that Mrs. Takachiko had made some cold-cut sandwiches and caesar salad for them.

 

            “What would you like to drink Tadashi? I’m sorry I didn’t ask you earlier.” Hiro’s mother asked as she spotted the two.

 

            “That’s fine. I’d like some tea if you have some please.” Tadashi replied. He noticed Hiro making a disgusted face from the corner of his eye.

 

            “Now now Hiro, tea is good for you. I’ll make some for all of us real quick. You two can start eating.”

 

            Tadashi and Hiro sat down together at the dining table and started eating their food.

 

            “I didn’t know you disliked tea?” Tadashi whispered to Hiro, nudging his shoulder.

 

            "It’s not like I don’t like tea,” Hiro explained, eating a mouthful of salad. “Just not with salad. It’s all too healthy you see.”

 

            Tadashi giggled, fondly ruffling Hiro’s hair. He often forgot that Hiro was younger than him, so he shouldn’t have been particularly surprised about his food preferences sometimes.

 

            It didn’t take long for Mrs. Takachiko to pour all of them some tea and join them for lunch. Lunch was spent mostly in silence; Tadashi was surprised that he wasn’t asked anymore questions. Tadashi half-wondered if Mrs. Takachiko had addressed all of her remaining concerns when she had her private chat with Hiro; the other half of him thought that he was being too optimistic because there was no way Hiro’s mother’s judgment of him was over yet.

 

            It seemed the second half of Tadashi’s brain was more on-point; after lunch, Mrs. Takachiko announced that she had to get going if she wanted to make it back to her relatives’ house before it got too late. Tadashi, of course, offered to take her to the bus terminal; Mrs. Takachiko accepted his offer, but on the condition that Tadashi drove her there alone. Hiro tried objecting, but his mother would not change her mind. Tadashi gently stepped in between them; he moved Hiro to the side and whispered to him that he’d be fine on his own.

 

            “Are you sure?” Hiro asked, his tone filled with concern for his boyfriend. Tadashi nodded resolutely.

 

            “She probably has some last minute things she wants to tell and ask me. I’ll be fine.”

 

            “Be careful Tadashi…she might ask you strange things.”

 

            “That’s fine. I’ll be back really soon ok?” Tadashi said gently, ruffling Hiro’s hair one last time before leaving.

 

            Tadashi stepped into the garage while Mrs. Takachiko said her goodbyes to Hiro. It was clear that Hiro was miffed about his mother’s decision to question Tadashi privately; however he still put on a kind face as he wished her a safe journey. She promised him that she would call and talk with him soon. When Mrs. Takachiko pulled Hiro into a hug, he readily returned it.

 

            All too soon, Tadashi found himself alone with Mrs. Takachiko in the van. Despite the fact that he readily accepted this situation in the first place, he was admittedly quite nervous at the moment. The two were silent for a few minutes, the both of them focusing on their own thing.

 

            “Thank you very much for helping us today Tadashi.” Mrs. Takachiko said, breaking the silence.

 

            “Of course Mrs. Takachiko. It wasn’t much trouble at all.”

 

            “Oh you’re simply too kind.” Mrs. Takachiko said, shaking her head. “You consider spending your entire Sunday driving Hiro and I around doing mundane tasks not bothersome? I know you mean well, but that’s not fair to you.”

 

            Tadashi stopped briefly at a red light; Mrs. Takachiko took the moment of opportunity to reach into her purse and hand Tadashi a twenty-dollar bill.

 

            “Mrs. Takachiko…that’s hardly necessary…” Tadashi said instantaneously. He attempted to shoo away the petite woman’s offering.

 

            “Your time, effort, and gas probably cost even more than this to be honest…please just accept it.” Mrs. Takachiko insisted, skillfully stuffing the bill in Tadashi’s blazer pocket. Before Tadashi could attempt to return the bill, the light changed and he was forced to return his attention to the road. Despite the fact that he truly wanted to refuse the money offering (he really didn’t believe he deserved it and he knew that the Takachikos weren’t exactly well-off), he eventually relented. Sometimes these things were a matter of pride; the last thing he wanted to do was to offend Mrs. Takachiko’s pride.

 

            The rest of the drive to the bus terminal was spent in silence. Tadashi made to drive his vehicle into the bus terminal drop-off area, but Mrs. Takachiko directed him to a street two blocks down instead.

 

            “I’d like for you to accompany me into the bus terminal for a little bit please.” She explained when Tadashi gave her a confused look.

 

            “Ah.” Tadashi replied in understanding. After parking the van, Tadashi dug into the glove compartment for quarters. Mrs. Takachiko gently stopped him.

 

            “You don’t need to pay for parking here dear. It’s Sunday remember? I wouldn’t make you pay extra money for parking.”

 

            “O-oh, right.”

 

            The two walked together into the bus terminal; after Mrs. Takachiko bought her ticket, the two walked to the appropriate boarding gate. By some luck, they managed to find an empty row of seats facing the gate; Tadashi took a seat on the left while Mrs. Takachiko seated herself on the right.

 

            “You know, after all this time, I haven’t even asked you the most obvious question,” Mrs. Takachiko started the conversation once more. “What exactly do you like about Hiro anyway? What makes him special to you?”

 

            Tadashi briefly glanced down at his shoes, thinking about Mrs. Takachiko’s question. Where did he even begin?

 

            “Well, there’s a lot of things about Hiro that I love Mrs. Takachiko,” Tadashi replied, hoping that he wouldn’t be judged for sounding so hopelessly cheesy and lovestruck. “I guess the very first thing I loved about him was his smile. Hiro’s smile just…it just warms my heart. I don’t care what society might think about his tooth gap, but I find it precious and adorable.”

 

            Hiro’s mother burst into charmed laughter at Tadashi’s statement and his subsequent blushing.

 

            “You know, that tooth gap was a result of Hiro’s father and I being unable to afford braces for our son. I mean, I don’t think Hiro would’ve taken the whole process seriously but still…I’m glad you find his tooth gap lovely.”

 

            The petite woman looked at Tadashi, her eyes coaxing him to continue. Tadashi cleared his throat before speaking again.

 

            “Another thing I love about Hiro is his incredible intellect. His knowledge of medicine and robotics is so extensive…he’s just one of those people that you know can change the world,” Tadashi continued. “It’s funny…because that was what really got me realizing that I liked Hiro romantically. I was always talking about him to my friends and my aunt with such pride and admiration you see…”

 

            “Lastly, I just really love the kind of person Hiro is. Sure, he has his secretive, stubborn and demanding moments…but everyone does from time to time,” Tadashi said thoughtfully, fondly remembering everything that had happened in the past 4 months. “His darker moments never take away from his true nature. I just really hope that I’ll get to enjoy more of his company and…his adorable smiles.“

 

            Tadashi now understood why Mrs. Takachiko had wanted to speak to him alone. How could she have expected him to answer that seemingly simple question if Hiro was with them? His answers might have seemed even more unbelievable (than they already were) under those circumstances.

 

            Tadashi gazed uncertainly at Mrs. Takachiko, waiting for some kind of response from her, whether good or bad. He was rewarded with a thoughtful nod.

 

            "I see…” Mrs. Takachiko said softly. She appeared to space out for a few seconds before she spoke again, much more clearly this time.

 

            “Out of curiosity, have you two had sex yet?” Hiro’s mother asked, rather bluntly.

 

            If Tadashi had had liquid in his mouth, he would have done a traditional spit-take at Mrs. Takachiko’s question. Luckily he didn’t, but he was sure that his heart was going to burst out of his chest. Guess Mrs. Takachiko didn’t want to talk to him privately for one reason alone.

 

            “Um…no we haven’t done anything of the sort.” Tadashi said, hating how pitiful and awkward he sounded, even to his own ears.

 

            “Oh? Then how far have you two gone?”

 

            “…We’ve kissed but…that’s about it?”

 

            “Hm. Well have you thought about sex at all?”

 

            “I can honestly say that I…haven’t thought about it. Um…”

 

            It was starting to get hard to breathe the more questions Hiro’s mother asked (this was so embarrassing). In some corner of his mind, Tadashi couldn’t help but think how heartbroken Aunt Cass would be if she learned that her nephew got sent to the hospital because of emotional shock.

 

            To his surprise, Mrs. Takachiko placed a small (but strong nonetheless) hand on his shoulder, squeezing it in a reassuring manner. She was smiling at him, half amused and half exasperated; it was an expression Hiro was infamous for making whenever Tadashi was being too much of a nervous wreck. That expression, along with all the warm and fond memories it evoked, was what grounded Tadashi and ultimately calmed him down.

 

            “I’m sorry.” Tadashi said instinctively. He wasn’t exactly sure what he was apologizing for, but he felt better after doing so anyway.

 

            “Oh you’re so silly Tadashi,” Mrs. Takachiko said, laughing heartily. “I can see why you get along so well with my brash Hiro.”

 

            “You do?”

 

            “Mmhmm. I think your sincerity and purity bring out his genuinely kind and caring heart. That silly son of mine doesn’t like admitting that he cares about anything…but I’m glad to see that it’s different now.”

 

            “…Really?”

 

            “Mmm. Anyway, please don’t apologize. I really should be the one apologizing for asking such loaded and private questions. I had actually asked Hiro the same question earlier but…he absolutely refused to answer me, heatedly saying that I should respect his privacy. He was absolutely right…but I can’t help but be curious and…very worried.”

 

            Hiro’s mother took a moment to take a deep breath before continuing her thoughts. Her expression turned especially grave and serious.

 

            “So you haven’t thought about it. But is that to say you’re not interested? Or…?”

 

            Tadashi bit his lips for a couple of seconds, carefully thinking about Mrs. Takachiko’s questions and their implications.

 

            “It’s not like I’m not interested,” Tadashi answered honestly, staring at the ground. “But at the same time…I guess I just don’t see it as a priority. If it happens, it happens. If it never happens, then I’m fine with that too.”

 

            Tadashi glanced at Hiro’s mother to see her reaction; he was rewarded with an approving nod.

 

            “I see. I can respect that logic. Fair warning though…despite the fact that Hiro doesn’t talk to me about this topic much…I know my son. If it ever happens, Hiro’s probably going to be the one to initiate everything. He has never been one to wait…takes after me in that department. Heh.”

 

            “….” Tadashi didn’t know how to respond to that, though somewhere in his mind, he knew it to be true. After all, Hiro was the one to initiate their first kiss together, not him. Flashbacks of Hiro kissing his ears and giggling about removing his clothes the day before also came to mind.

 

            “But I’m sure you’ll know what to do if that time ever comes. You’re a smart, compassionate young man, and I couldn’t be happier that Hiro is dating someone like you.”

 

            Tadashi gazed at Mrs. Takachiko, temporarily at a loss for words.

 

            “You mean it?” he asked disbelieving when he found his ability to speak again.

 

            “Yes. I mean it 100%.” Mrs. Takachiko said resolutely, smiling at Tadashi.

 

            “…T-thank you…”

 

            Just then, a bus pulled into the bus terminal; Tadashi checked the bus number and realized that it was the bus that Mrs. Takachiko needed to take. Beside him, Mrs. Takachiko noticed the same thing.

 

            “Finished our talk right on time didn’t we? Guess it’s time for me to start boarding. Take care of Hiro for me Tadashi,” Mrs. Takachiko said, standing up from her seat. “He’s very dear to me, as you can imagine. He’s the only close family member I have left after my husband passed away.”

 

            “Yes ma’m.”

 

            “Know that if you ever dare to break his heart or hurt him, you will never feel the end of my wrath.” She said, her eyes alight with a fire only a loving protective mother would have.

 

            “Of course.” Tadashi said, bowing slightly to show how much he respected her words.

 

            “I wish you the best of luck in your medical studies dear. Goodbye now.” Mrs. Takachiko said before she started heading towards the boarding gate. However, she didn’t go three steps before stopping and heading back towards Tadashi.

 

            “Speaking of your medical studies…as an aspiring healthcare professional, I’m certain that I don’t need to remind you about the importance of safe sex right?”

 

            “R-right.” Tadashi said, his cheeks flushing in embarrassment.

 

            “Sorry, just had to get that confirmation. Take care now…for real.” The petite woman said before leaving for the boarding gate once again. By now, the passengers were already being allowed onto the bus, one by one; Tadashi waited until he saw her sit down (somewhere in the middle of the bus) before leaving the bus terminal and making his way back to Hiro’s house to touch bases.

 

***

 

            Tadashi was surprised to see that Hiro’s garage door was ajar when he arrived; upon closer inspection, he saw that Hiro was waiting inside, half-heartedly tinkering with his inventions. After parking his van, Tadashi quickly made his way to his boyfriend; on Hiro’s end, he all but threw himself into Tadashi’s arms when he noticed his presence in the garage. The two hugged each other tightly for a couple of seconds before Hiro broke out of the hug to briefly close the garage door behind Tadashi.

 

            “So…was that my last opportunity to ever hug you?” Hiro jokingly asked. Despite his teasing tone, his eyes were clearly quivering with fearful emotion.

 

            “No…It went fine with your mom. I’m here to stay!” Tadashi replied reassuringly.

 

            Tadashi simply beamed at Hiro, who seemed to be temporarily at a loss for words. Slowly, but surely, a smile began forming on Hiro’s lips as well.

 

            “I..don’t believe it!” Hiro exclaimed, once again pulling Tadashi into a hug, laughing happily. Tadashi couldn’t help but laugh along as he hugged Hiro’s smaller body against him; Hiro’s happiness was simply contagious.

 

            “I’m so glad…” Hiro whispered softly against Tadashi’s chest. Hiro was so relieved that tears started dotting the corner of his eyes.

 

            “Yeah…I’m glad too.” Tadashi replied, stroking Hiro’s hair soothingly.

 

            The two didn’t speak for awhile after that, simply enjoying each other’s company.  Eventually, the two went to sit down on the couch to discuss a few things.

 

            “So what happened? I know my mom well enough to know that she didn’t just give you her blessing without you proving your worth or something.” Hiro asked.

 

            “Well…for one, she asked me why I liked you,” Tadashi said, chuckling gently. “I was really scared that she wouldn’t believe what I said though, because it was all so cheesy.”

 

            “I have no doubt that it was horribly cheesy,” Hiro said, rolling his eyes. Still, Tadashi knew that Hiro wasn’t particularly annoyed. “Anything else?”

 

            “…Actually, your mom did ask something else…” Tadashi said, fidgeting uncomfortably. He was a little unsure of how to bring up the topic. Luckily for him, it seemed that Hiro knew exactly what it was that his mother asked, sparing Tadashi from elaborating. Hiro’s expression instantly darkened.

 

            “I see…Well, what did you tell her?”

 

            “…The truth?” Tadashi said, suddenly feeling extremely small. When he had been talking to Hiro’s mother earlier, he realized that he had told her something Hiro hadn’t wanted to; of course, it was too late at this point to take back his words. He nervously awaited Hiro’s reaction; to his surprise, Hiro simply sighed.

 

            “It’s ok Tadashi,” Hiro said gently, well aware of Tadashi’s nervousness. “It’s not your fault…she probably asked it so bluntly that you answered reflexively. Besides, I know you couldn’t lie to save your life…because you’re so nice. Moreover, it probably would’ve left a bad impression on my mom if you refused to answer. I mean I can refuse because I’m her son and all…but not you.”

 

            “…I’m still sorry Hiro.”

 

            “Heh. I accept your apology. But well...I guess my secret is out and…it’s a little embarrassing.” Hiro said softly, pulling his legs close to him as if he was curling into an upright ball. He hid his face in his arms; Tadashi had no doubt that Hiro was probably blushing up a storm at the moment.

 

            “Hey,” Tadashi said as he coaxed his boyfriend out of hiding. It took a couple of shoulder rubs before Hiro made eye contact with him again. “This is something a lot of people go through…and maybe this is a good time to just…sit and finally talk about this together. At the very least, I’ll tell you what I told your mom specifically.”

 

            “Ok…what did you tell my mom exactly?”

 

            “Well, when she found out that we haven’t done anything…sexual yet, she asked me if that was just because I wasn’t interested or if it was because it just wasn’t something that came up in our relationship yet,” Tadashi explained, choosing his words carefully lest he made Hiro upset again. “And I explained to her my point of view on the whole topic. I’m not against sex or anything…it’s just not a priority of mine. If it happens it happens, and if it doesn’t happen, I don’t particularly care either…so all in all, the reason why nothing has happened yet is because the right time never came up?”

 

            “Ah.”

 

            “But…judging from what you were telling me late last night…I’m assuming you’re interested right?” Tadashi asked gently, making sure to keep good eye contact with Hiro despite how murky this conversation was getting for both of them.

 

            “Oh, yeah THAT,” Hiro answered, once again playing with his shirt, looking quite like a child who was just caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “I’d like to say that I wasn’t myself that night but…I was somewhat aware despite the fact that I was a little tipsy. I wanted to apologize for that by the way…it wasn’t fair of me to spring that on you all of sudden.”

 

            “That’s ok,” Tadashi said almost instantaneously. “Without you being such an instigator, our relationship wouldn’t be where it is now.”

 

            “Yeah, very true.”

 

            The two giggled briefly at Tadashi’s statement, the laughter thankfully breaking some of the tension that hung between them.

 

            “You know, I had spent most of my life growing up believing that I wouldn’t engage in such activities until…I don’t know, when I got married or whatever,” Hiro said, continuing their conversation. “But that mentality has changed a lot now after I’ve grown up and experienced more things I guess. Your comfort level with a significant other and their comfort level with you should really be the ultimate deciding factors. I’m very comfortable with you and…I guess sex is a step I wouldn’t mind taking with you.”

 

            “Yeah, I feel the same way.” Tadashi replied, pulling Hiro close to him so that he could bring their foreheads together. Hiro laughed.

 

            “Well, I’m glad we’re in agreement.”

 

            “Mmm.”

 

            With the conversation now over, the two felt a huge burden being lifted from both of their shoulders and they couldn't have been happier. Hiro proceeded to straddle Tadashi's lap and snuggle against Tadashi's neck, sighing contently; on Tadashi's end, he hummed absent-mindedly, simply enjoying Hiro's warmth. 

 

            Suddenly, Tadashi's cellphone started ringing. Tadashi spent a brief second digging in his pocket before he scooped out his phone and picked up the call. It was Aunt Cass. 

 

            "Hello?" Tadashi greeted. 

 

            "Hey Tadashi? Where are you right now?" Aunt Cass asked. She sounded tired, much to Tadashi's concern.

 

            "I'm over at Hiro's. Is something wrong?" 

 

            "Nothing serious. It's just that we got a lot of orders-for-delivery today, so my driver is pretty behind because your moped can't carry as much as my van can. I'm sorry to interrupt your time with Hiro, but do you think you can bring the van back and lend a hand?" Aunt Cass sounded embarrassed. Tadashi couldn't help but chuckle a little. 

 

            "Sure Aunt Cass, it's not a problem. I'll come over right now ok?"

 

            "Thanks Tadashi. See you soon." Aunt Cass said before hanging up.  

 

            "Gosh I hope she hasn't started stress eating..." Tadashi muttered as he pocketed his phone once more.

 

            "Stress eating?" Hiro asked curiously.

 

            "It's exactly what it sounds like," Tadashi explained. "She starts grabbing pastries to eat to attempt to calm down. I don't want her to eat too much or else she'll get heartburn…among other problems."

 

            "You'd better get going then," Hiro said, removing himself from Tadashi's embrace. "The last thing I want to do is to cause more distress for Aunt Cass. C'mon."

 

            Hiro opened the garage door for Tadashi. 

 

            "Get home safe nerd." 

 

            "I will. Please text me when your mom arrives back at your relatives' place ok?

 

            "Sure."

 

            "Goodnight kiss?" Tadashi whispered. Hiro laughed. 

 

            "Yes. Always." Hiro replied, meeting Tadashi half-way. 

 

            "Goodnight Hiro."

 

            "Goodnight Tadashi." 

 

            Tadashi made sure he saw Hiro close the garage door behind him before he drove back to the cafe. The thought of needing to do more work on top of what he had already done today made him sigh a little (a person could only do so much in one day right?); but at the same time, when he thought about what he had achieved today (getting Mrs. Takachiko's approval and clearing things up with Hiro), he realized the hard work was worth it. 

 

            There was no doubt that he was a tired man, but he was happy and grateful. He could live with that.

 

FIN

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *dusts off hands* Well, now that I have the story where I want it to be...(also wow I actually gave Tadashi a happy ending ahahahaaaa /punted) 
> 
> Will these two ever do it in this series? I still don't know. It'll really depend on how the characters continue to grow I guess. I don't want to promise anything though sorry :[ 
> 
> I have been trying to see if I could write it the way I envisioned it..but so far nothing has been perfect. The drafts have been...mildly satisfactory at best...so yeah.
> 
> Anyway I apologize if anything in this chapter appears odd or whatnot...because I have no personal experience with meeting "the in-laws" XD so.. I just tried putting myself into Hiro's, Tadashi's, and Mrs. Takachiko's shoes the best I could. It's kind of funny though...my friend recently go into a relationship with someone...and her boyfriend introduced himself to the family already, etc. And unsurprisingly, she got "the sex talk" from her mother, much to her annoyance lol 
> 
> I'm glad some power out there is giving me constant reference to draw from for most of my installments. I just wished that said power out there also gave me the time and skills required to bring those sources of inspiration to life *cries* 
> 
> Also I guess I was too lazy to think of a good solid name for Hiro's mother...but if I had to venture an attempt, I'd say her first name would be something akin to "Chie" or "Manami" if we're going for a Japanese name and something akin to "Julia" or "Susana" if we're going for an English name. Personally in my story, I like to headcanon both of Hiro's parents being half-caucasian, half-Japanese..but I suppose it's easier to say that Hiro's father is Japanese and Hiro's mother is Caucasian. This follows the movie more closely anyway lol.
> 
> So as mentioned in part one, I think this is the part where I might take a break from writing this. But don't worry, I know there are more things I still want to write. I just really need a break though. =A=;;; But maybe I'll spend my time drawing instead? :)
> 
> Anyway, thank you so much for your continuous love and support TvT)/! If you have a tumblr, find me @ RL4r.tumblr.com!!! I'd love to talk to more people and get an idea of what I'm doing well and what I can improve on. <3


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